万物简史 第522期:丰富多彩的生命(18)

At intervals¹ it hands down decrees, declaring that Zauschneria californica (a common plant in rock gardens) 它不时下达命令，宣布从今以后加州倒挂金钟（一种普通的假山庭园植物）

is to be known henceforth as Epilobium canum or that Aglaothamnion tenuissimum may now be regarded as conspecific with Aglaothamnion byssoides, 要被称做柳叶菜；丛毛草现在可以被视为织丝柳叶草的

but not with Aglaothamnion pseudobyssoides. 而不是伪织丝柳叶草的同一种类。

Normally these are small matters of tidying up that attract little notice, 在通常情况下，这些都是归拢归拢的小问题，不会引起多少注意。

but when they touch on beloved garden plants, as they sometimes do, shrieks² of outrage³ inevitably⁴ follow. 但是，要是他们有时候触犯了人们心爱的庭园植物，就不可避免地会引发一片愤怒的尖叫声。

In the late 1980s the common chrysanthemum⁵ was banished⁶ (on apparently⁷ sound scientific principles) 20世纪80年代末，普通的菊花（根据表面看来是合理的原则）

from the genus of the same name and relegated⁸ to the comparatively drab and undesirable⁹ world of the genus Dendranthema. 被逐出了同名的属，归到了不大有意思的山菊属。

Chrysanthemum breeders are a proud and numerous lot, 种植菊花的可是一批自尊心很强的人，而且人数很多。

and they protested to the real if improbable-sounding Committee on Spermatophyta. 他们向种子植物委员会提出抗议。这个委员会听上去很别扭，但实际上是存在的。

(There are also committees for Pteridophyta, Bryophyta, and Fungi¹⁰, among others, （别的还包括蕨类植物委员会、苔藓植物委员会和真菌委员会，

all reporting to an executive called the Rapporteur-General; this is truly an institution to cherish.) 都对所谓“总报告人”的执行官负责；这样的机构真是值得爱惜的。）

Although the rules of nomenclature are supposed to be rigidly¹¹ applied¹², botanists¹³ are not indifferent to sentiment, and in 1995 the decision was reversed. 虽然关于命名的一些规定应该严格遵守，但植物学家们对情绪不是无动于衷的，于1995年撤消了那个决定。

Similar adjudications have saved petunias¹⁴, euonymus, and a popular species of amaryllis from demotion, 由于类似的情况，碧冬茄属、卫矛属植物，以及一种常见的朱顶兰属没有遭受降格的命运。

but not many species of geraniums, which some years ago were transferred, amid howls, to the genus Pelargonium. 但是，许多种老鹳草属植物不在其列，几年以前，在一片抗议声中，那些植物被转到了天竺葵属。

The disputes are entertainingly surveyed in Charles Elliott's The Potting-ShedPapers. 这些争论在查尔斯·埃利奥特的《盆栽棚文献》一书中都得到了有趣的描述。

 

1 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

2 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

5 chrysanthemum   

n.菊，菊花

参考例句：

• Each mourner wore a black armband and a white paper chrysanthemum.每个吊唁的人都佩带着黑纱和一朵白纸菊花。
• There are many species of chrysanthemum.菊花品种很多。

6 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 relegated   

v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

• She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。
• I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

10 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

11 rigidly   

adv.刻板地，僵化地

参考例句：

• Life today is rigidly compartmentalized into work and leisure. 当今的生活被严格划分为工作和休闲两部分。
• The curriculum is rigidly prescribed from an early age. 自儿童时起即已开始有严格的课程设置。

12 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

13 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句

14 petunias   

n.矮牵牛（花）( petunia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The petunias were already wilting in the hot sun. 在烈日下矮牵牛花已经开始枯萎了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. 那里有我的前廊我的枕头，我漂亮的紫色矮牵牛。 来自互联网